


Caught In A Snare

by AHeartForStories



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [3]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Caught in a Snare, Gen, Head Injury, Hiccup Whump, Sunburn, Whump, concussion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:27:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26053435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AHeartForStories/pseuds/AHeartForStories
Summary: Hiccup whump. A rumor causes Hiccup and Toothless to investigate an old Dragon Hunter base. An old, simple dragon trap gets the best of Hiccup.
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1427539
Comments: 14
Kudos: 56





	Caught In A Snare

**Author's Note:**

> Bad Things Happen Bingo Prompt: "Caught in a snare"  
> +  
> Whump server prompt: "Left in the heat".  
> Really didn't know how to end this one.  
> Constructive criticism is appreciated!  
> Enjoy!

The problem with living in a part of the world that used to be on bad terms with dragons is that, sometimes, you can't help but come across some remains of that past.

During a particularly warm month, Hiccup finds himself taking some time away from Berk. Rumors have reached his ears that a small group of Dragon Hunters are trying to assemble again on the island that used to be Viggo's main base. It's been years since the man's death, but still some of them will try to revive a long dead empire.

But when he and Toothless land on the island in question, they find... nothing. The abandoned ruins of a camp some cages, even a wrecked ship, and nothing more. No sign that any humans have recently been here either. It looks like they'd come here for nothing.

Well, maybe it isn't entirely a loss. Any excuse to go flying is a good one.

But no matter how dead a camp may initially seem, sometimes the remains of it can be just as troublesome. Convinced that no one else is here, Hiccup isn't too worried when he sends Toothless to investigate on one side of the island while he takes the other, fully believing that they are both safe.

No one tell Snotlout, but he's been wrong before.

Wandering aimlessly into a forest, it's not that Hiccup suddenly runs into some Dragon Hunters, it's just that he finds a dragon trap leftover from when this place used to be occupied.

Covered in time by the passing seasons, Hiccup doesn't see the abandoned trap lying in wait for him as he descends down from a shallow drop with the aid of some rocks.

His gaze is drawn by some birds, feeling certain enough that nothing will be happening to him at this moment and that is when the fantasy of safety ends.

He steps in something and a tiny click is heard. Before he can even question it, a snare catches him around his ankle and quickly pulls the limb right out from under him. With a surprised yelp he falls backwards and conks the back of his head right on the rocks he'd used to get down in this little area. Pain explodes where he's been hit.

A second later he's at least a meter up from the ground, his body swinging while his brain pounds painfully inside his skull. He holds it, hands clasped together on the back as he hopes the movement stops soon.

"Oh, noo..." cringing, he feels his stomach churning while the world spins around him. He already feels like throwing up. Not one of his finest moments, that is for sure.

The swinging comes to a gradual halt. He waits for it to happen, fo rit to end, while he tries to breathe through the sudden migraine burning like fire in the back of his head.

He believes his hair to be wet, that something is seeping out from between his fingers and that something can only be blood. It won't be surprising after the hit he took.

Once he finally stops swinging, he holds his hands out in front of him to take a look and he sees them stained in his blood. That isn't immediately troubling as headwounds are known to bleed a lot. What he should really be looking out for is passing out from the wound and then proceeding to stay out for hours on end. That will be concerning.

Feeling the blood quickly rushing to his head, Hiccup looks at his ankle to see what he can do now that he is somewhat steady. Though the tree he's hanging from really shouldn't be spinning like this.

Unfortuantely for him, it's his right that is trapped. So fixing this situation isn't as simple as reaching out and removing his prosthetic.

Maybe that is a little bit of a blessing. That way he at least avoids a second hit to his head on his way down.

So he pulls his knife out of his left armbrace to see if he can cut through the rope. Years of abandonment has not weakened it much and as it's intended purpose was to catch dragons, it might be a bit time consuming to cut through it. It needed to be sturdy, after all.

But his hands are wet and sticky with drying blood and before he can even try to go for the rope, his knife slips out of his hands.

"What?! No!" He shouts as he tries to grab it as it falls. But his efforts are in vain, before long it's on the ground. All he manages to accomplish is a small cut on his thumb that is bound to be an annoyance as it heals.

"Oh, come on." He moans irritably. Gazing at the knife so tauntingly close and yet so far away, he can only come to the conclusion that there is no way he will ever be able to reach for it on his own.

"Toothless? Toothless!" He calls out to his dragon, hoping that the Night Fury is close enough and won't have to come running all the way from the other side of the island.

But he has good hearing and Hiccup knows this. So he can be certain that he's heard, at least.

"Toothless! Your Rider got himself in trouble! Again..." If Toothless ever wonders whether Hiccup tires of getting into situations such as these, he can rest assured knowing that, yes, Hiccup is just as annoyed with himself.

Oh boy, he feels himself becoming lightheaded, like he's about to pass out. A bad idea considering his current situation. Toothless may be too far away to reach him in time and that could potentially lead to worsening his situation.

It's hot, too, for the time of the year and the sky is nearly cloudless for once. There aren't many trees here for cover either and the sun's warmth is beating down on him.

Good for a nice day out, not so good when it is just hot enough to make your already bad headache even worse. If he doesn't do anything to get out of that rope now, he might be here a while, too.

Hiccup spots the Inferno strapped to his thigh. He sees it twice, as a matter of fact. All due to the blow to his head.

He reaches for it, core straining with his stomach threatening to spill his lunch, and misses the first time. Double-vision doesn't make this easy for him.

The second time he manages to grab hold of it, he succeeds and yanks it free. Falling back down causes the throbbing to become even more terrible and he squeezes his eyes shut for a moment and holds his head.

Oh, that hurt. Better not do that a second time.

But he has the Inferno now. And in spite of being a tool to communicate with dragons, it is still sharp enough to cut through the rope.

However, it's becoming black before his eyes and he has a hard time seeing what he's doing.

Is it because the blow to his head is finally catching up to him? Or because he's been upsidedown for much too long? Either way, he needs to get out of this before he passes out.

Unfolding the Inferno, he turns his attention to his ankle again, and it, too, slips from his grasp.

* * *

He's not aware that he passed out until it's much later when he wakes up to the same throbbing still going on in the back of his skull.

And something... nudging him?

Blearily opening his eyes, Hiccup comes to see a familiar black, scaly nose up close and sniffing his face. A smile spreads in recognition even when a slimy tongue licks his cheek.

That doesn't feel too comfortable. What is up with his cheek?

"Toothless?" He asks and his dragon purrs in relief upon having his Rider wake up.

"You found me, Bud!" Hiccup shares his relief. He feels hot and the sun is significantly lower in the sky than it was earlier. How long ago did he fall unconscious?

After making sure his Rider isn't about to pass out again, Toothless stands up on his hind legs. He is tall enough to reach the human's bound ankle. But the rope that ties him is pretty sturdy and Night Fury teeth are stronger than they are sharp. They simply weren't meant for things like this.

He comes back down on all fours and croons his apologies to his Rider.

"That's fine, Bud." Hiccup breathes and looks up at himself. He hadn't expected Toothless to be able to bite through those ropes. But maybe, if he weren't so dizzy and tired from the concussion that is without a doubt brewing inside his skull, he could simply pull himself up and reach it to get himself free.

What doesn't help is that all the blood has rushed to his head and that his knife if still on the ground, where his Dragonblade now also lies. Both lying in a big blotch of dried red in the dirt and on the grass.

Unless Toothless can pick it up for him.

Glancing back down below him, he spots his knife exactly where it has fallen earlier. And the blood on his hands has dried, so it won't slip out of his grasp again.

"Bud, the... can you grab the knife for me?" For a moment he needs to blink, teetering on the edge of passing out again. His eyes close and Toothless nudges his face to urge him to stay with him. Perhaps, he isn't as awake as he would like to be.

Hiccup points at the knife and the dragon grabs it with his left forepaw to hand to Hiccup.

Many dragons technically have two posable thumbs, Toothless included. After some practicing, he can grab things without the need to cover them in unwashable dragon saliva. The way he grabs the knife and gives it to him is still awkward, but that training has been fruitful.

"Thanks, Bud." He tells him and turns his attention back to the rope binding his ankle. He tries to pull himself up, but the move he pulled on Nepenthe to reach the cuffs on his wrists with his pegleg, he can't do here simply because he's too tired to.

Catching on, Toothless steps beneath him and sits up straight, supporting his Rider with his neck and back. When the dragon stands, Hiccup can finally reach his ankle and cut through the rope. His leg drops and he holds onto the saddle so Toothless can gently lower him.

Once low enough, Hiccup lets himself slide off the saddle and comes to sit on the ground.

His head's pounding combined with too much movement makes it even worse. So when he finally feels a solid surface beneath him after having been upsidedown for who knows how long, he allows himself to lie down. The world is still spinning dizzyingly fast all around him and makes him want to throw up.

Toothless rumbles and sniffs his headwound in worry. It has stopped bleeding all on its own and doesn't appear to be too bad with his shallow knowledge on human medicine. But Hiccup is certain, however, that he is suffering from a concussion. The terrible throbbing of his head, the dizziness, nausea, feeling too tired, that can only be a concussion. It's severity is yet to be decided.

"Give me a moment, Bud. If I don't pass out again, we can leave for home." He decides and Toothless croons understandingly. Lying on his side, blocking out the sun, he tries to take a moment.

There is something else wrong with him, too.

In a place as far North as the Barbaric Archipelago, that the sun can be a big threat may be overlooked sometimes, but Hicup is certain that he's feeling some of the consequences of being out of the shade for so long.

The shadows may have turned in his favor by now, but his face feels much too warm and so do his hands. Is he sunburned? He's certainly sweating inside his leather getup, that'll be fun when he has to change out of his clothes later, and the back of his hands certainly have a redder tint to them that isn't caused by blood.

"Am I sunburned, Bud?" He asks and swallows his dry throat. He could really do with some water.

Toothless responds in a way that Hiccup understands as a yes and he sighs before closing his eyes.

Great a sunburn on top of his concussion. Hopefully he hasn't managed to get a case of heat exhaustion from being out in the sun for hours. The sun can be such a deceptive element in such a cold place.

The dragon positions himself in a way to keeps the sun off him for however long his Rider will be lying there. Hiccup appreciates it, lowering his hand.

Though usually such a restless person, Hiccup just wants to stay down now. Doesn't matter that the ground is much too hard to lie on for longer than an hour, he doesn't want to stand or even sit. For once, he doesn't want to fly either. He feels like he might throw up if he does either of those things.

But he's made a decision and he going to stick to it. If he doesn't pass out again, they are flying back to Berk. There are plenty of islands and seastacks to stop on, on the way home. Besides, Sharpshot is enjoying a day off, so he's not here to help and Hiccup doesn't feel up for finding a new Terrible Terror willing to travel so far away from home just to help out a human.

No use staying here either.

Although, on second thought, his Dragon Riders are bound to get worried at some point and they know where he's headed. Maybe staying wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all.

In the end it's not his choice to make. He doesn't pass out again, but he does fall right asleep while trying to decide on what his next move should be. Toothless, noticing his Rider's even breathing and his relaxed face, comes to that conclusion and lies down next to him. His larger body still providing shade for Hiccup's.

He doesn't attempt to wake him up. Rest is good for a concussion, after all. It's good for any injury or illness. He would've liked to have gotten home sooner, but he knows that the Dragon Riders are bound to come for them eventually. In the meantime, Hiccup can rest.

They do come and much sooner than the leading Dragon Rider duo could've predicted. After all the times of Hiccup getting into all sorts of trouble, they know to hurry.

By then Hiccup has had some time to rest and is able to quieten his nausea enough to fly. And once back on Berk, Gothi confirms his suspicions and diagnoses him with a concussion. After some lectures from Astrid about going off on his own without Toothless with his kind of history, he is send to bed to sleep some more and he dozes off almost immediately.


End file.
